Newcastle United eye 'bargain' 27y/o striker wanted by Aston Villa - 42 Premier League goals in 80 starts

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Newcastle United transfers: Striker Kelechi Iheanacho has been linked with a move to St James’ Park following confirmation of his release from Leicester City.

Newcastle United are reportedly considering a move for former Manchester City and Leicester City striker Kelechi Iheanacho.

The 27-year-old’s contract at Leicester expires at the end of the month and it has been confirmed he will not be offered a new deal at the King Power Stadium following promotion back to the Premier League. The Nigerian forward scored just five goals in 10 starts for The Foxes last season and leaves the club having scored 61 goals in 232 games in all competitions.

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According to The Mirror, the free agent is on Newcastle’s radar as a potential striker option with Alexander Isak and Callum Wilson the club’s only senior strikers available heading into the 2024-25 campaign as things stand. Iheanacho burst onto the scene at Manchester City before making a £25million move to Leicester in 2017.

He is used to being a back-up option too with just 80 of his 196 Premier League appearances coming from the start. In that time, he has registered 42 goals and 25 assists. Iheanacho has started more than 10 league games a season just four times in his professional career with his 16 starts for Leicester during the 2020-21 campaign being a career high. There is some doubt over Newcastle’s striker situation heading into the summer transfer window with Callum Wilson heading into the final year of his contract at the club having previously attracted transfer interest from elsewhere. While Eddie Howe is keen to keep hold of the striker, financial pressures could see Newcastle consider any offers that come in for the striker.

Alexander Isak has attracted plenty of interest from top clubs across Europe after a 25-goal season for Newcastle. But The Magpies have no plans on selling the striker this summer. United are still yet to replace Chris Wood after initially loaning him out to Nottingham Forest in January 2023 before selling him last summer for £15million. It leaves a potential gap in the squad for a third-choice striker to supplement Wilson and Isak.

That’s where a player such as Iheanacho could offer value for money for Newcastle given the lack of transfer fee and wages freed up by the club with the release of Matt Ritchie, Jeff Hendrick, Loris Karius and Paul Dummett. The striker is represented by ROGON, who have recently negotiated a new long-term contract for Joelinton at Newcastle. Iheanacho has also been linked with a move to Aston Villa this summer.

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